


In Shadows

by Nokutaan



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time
Genre: Family Fluff, Gen, Sibling AU, headcanon heavy, that one au where sheik is a bastard prince
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-22
Updated: 2020-07-22
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:20:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25440784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nokutaan/pseuds/Nokutaan
Summary: Before there was Sheik, aid to the hero of Hyrule, there was Sheik the half-Sheikah, bastard son to the King of Hyrule who was Princess Zelda's closest confidant. As dark forces threaten to put an end to their peaceful days, Zelda and Sheik must hatch a plan to save Hyrule from the fate that threatens to destroy it. However, will their attempt to intervene truly be enough to save Hyrule?(Sheik and Zelda sibling au!)
Kudos: 1





	1. Prologue: To the Castle

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Hello! A note before we begin- This fic will probably be sort of headcanon heavy. I love Ocarina of Time, but parts of it feel so empty.Headcanons have been added to slightly expand on the lore and give this version of Hyrule a bit more life. I'm also imagining Hyrule as bigger than what we're given in Ocarina of Time, just because I find it more interesting. I don't know if I'd consider the Hyrule I'm imagining as big as Breath of the Wild, but it's definitely a lot more expansive

Sheik hated the castle. Everything was so much colder there than in Kakariko- the walls, the halls, the people. Sheik wasn't sure why he had to live here now instead of with Impa or with his… mom. In fact, he wasn't entirely sure why he had to live with Impa instead of his mom, but every time Sheik would ask Impa's brow would furrow ever so slightly.

So he stopped asking. He wasn't blind to what that meant. Sheikah were intimately acquainted with death from the moment they were born. Such was the nature of their magic and their way of life.

  
Or so he'd been told. However, it hadn't taken long to realize he was different from other Sheikah- at least superficially. Every Sheikah was born with silver hair and red eyes- and while he carried the same crimson eyes as the Sheikah, his hair… rather than being silver, it was more of a pale gold color. His mother had always insisted that he was the same as the other Sheikah. Still, after he had started living with Impa, Sheik began to realize those differences were more pronounced than other Sheikah children. They blended more easily into the shadows than he did and had an easier time in the training with the elders than he did. Perhaps, it was in those little moments that he had been exposed to the fact that he was not a full-blooded Sheikah in the way the other children were.

It hadn't really bothered him in Kakariko. His friends only made a passing comment here and there about the color of his hair, and they only lightly poked fun at how he hadn't been able to land a bulls-eye on the training targets wit relative ease like they had. Still, he hadn't thought much of what it might have meant to be a half-Sheikah. He had never known his father in the same way other children had. When asked- Impa simply avoided the question- like she dodged all questions about his mother.

It wasn't until the men dressed in steel came that he discovered the truth of his paternal heritage. He was four years old on the day he was ordered to the castle. Impa seemed displeased with the order but ultimately did not fight it. After all, the Sheikah could never truly fight a decree from the Royal Family, such was the curse that the Goddess of Shadows had bound them to.

Impa accompanied him to the castle the day he was summoned. Sheik remembered standing behind Impa, quaking in fear as he stared up at the man who called himself the King of Hyrule. He knew little about King Daphnes, other than he had unified Hyrule after it had fallen apart due to war. Daphnes was a bulky man with tan skin and a sand blonde beard with hair that had been neatly braided back. However, what stuck out to Sheik the most was the hardened gaze he cast down on Sheik. It made him cower in fear behind Impa, who stood in front of him, casting her own hardened glare back at the King. It was clear that despite her servitude, she didn't trust this man at all.

It was that day that Sheik learned that he was the King's bastard son, and the King wished for him to remain in the castle, away from prying eyes. Sheik didn't fully understand the reasoning behind it- the King had muttered something about jeopardizing his daughter's future if it were to get out. However, it was a half-hearted excuse at best.

Sheik was far too young to understand the politics behind it all at the time. He only remembered Impa begrudgingly accepting the King's order, and from that day forward, he lived in the castle. He was to be trained to be a servant- but since he was far too young to carry out even the simplest of the maid's tasks, he spent most of his days playing by himself in the garden.

  
There were children of the Hylian nobility that came and went. Still, no one was ever interested in playing with him. They found his presence off-putting. Sheik couldn't help but feel lonely at that time. There were times where he'd simply sit in his quiet corner of the garden and sob. He missed Kakariko, and he missed his mother. Impa visited Sheik when she could, but her work as the Sheikah elder kept her busy. She often didn't have the time to visit Sheik even if she wanted.

It was in one of these quiet moment's in the garden that he had been discovered by Princess Zelda- his sister. She had heard him sobbing and peeked through the bushes to investigate. Even then, Zelda was a curious child, always sticking her nose where it hadn't belong. Sheik knew he should have ignored her when she approached and stared at him. Sheik first noticed the color of her eyes- they were a deep blue color just like a clear summer sky- and they stood in contrast to his own. He also remembered the fear he felt when he saw her- the King had been explicit in his order to not interact with the young Princess and the Queen.

Even as a young boy, he knew that no good could have come from their meeting. It would raise too many questions-…

And yet there she was, staring at him quite unnervingly. It was like Zelda's gaze saw straight through him. She said nothing for a long while, and after what seemed like an uncomfortably long time, the little girl spoke.

"I like your eyes!" She giggled, "They're like two big, sparkly rubies! They're pretty!"

Out of all the things she could have said- that was not certainly what Sheik had expected. He had expected the Princess to scorn him- call him ugly or a monster- but instead…she had… complimented him?

When someone called out to her, Zelda gave him a friendly wave and disappeared back through the bushes. That had been the first encounter with his sister, and it had been a little strange. However, for the first time, he had been forced into the castle he had felt strangely… happy.

The castle felt a little warmer after that, and he hated it a little less. Despite the King's orders, Zelda refused to stay away from him and had the uncanny ability to find him while he was in the garden. The two played together until the Queen would eventually come looking for her daughter. It became the highlight of Sheik's day.

  
He could say that Zelda was his first real friend in the castle.

  
However, their happy days couldn't last forever. The same year that Sheik had been brought into the castle, Queen Cordelia became gravely ill. She passed away at the end of winter that same year. Zelda had been inconsolable for days after the funeral. Every time she'd come to visit, she would burst into tears, and all he could do was try and console her.

It was in those dark, dreary, winter days that he made a promise to the young Princess who's tears refused to cease. She was so afraid that someone else might be taken from her, and Sheik wanted to ease those worries in some small way.

"I promise to stay by your side, Zelly. No matter what. I'd be a bad big brother if I just left my little sister all alone, you know?" He hadn't intended to tell her the truth, but even if he hadn't- he suspected that Zelda knew who he was. She always had the uncanny ability to just… know things about people. It was hard to lie to her and even harder to keep secrets.

The promise was the first time he had seen Zelda flash a genuine smile since the Queen had passed away. Sheik knew he'd made the right decision then. Princess Zelda was the only real family he had left, and he wanted to protect her.

And from that day on, they were almost inseparable.


	2. In the Castle Gardens

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zelda and Sheik find a fun game to play in the castle garden.

"Okay, so whoever makes it to lunch without getting discovered is the winner! Seem easy enough?" Zelda whispered in a hushed tone. Sheik stared at her and then back to himself and let out an amused giggle. On a whim, they had decided to switch clothes one day and found, much to their chagrin, that most of the servants couldn't see the difference between them. Sheik and Zelda both took a great deal of delight in fooling people.

Sheik often marveled at how alike they looked despite their different mother's. The only striking difference was his red eyes to her blue eyes, and perhaps, if someone looked close enough, they would notice that Sheik's hair was a few shades lighter than Zelda's. Still, they were near identical in almost every other way -a feat that was impressive for mere half-siblings.

The only person who could genuinely tell them apart from a distance was Impa; therefore, this game came with a particular rule: **avoid Impa at all costs.**

"Mmm… Are we betting anything on this…?" Sheik murmured out, staring at himself in the mirror as he attempted to readjust the veil that rested precariously on his head. He wasn't quite sure how his little sister managed to keep it on for so long every day. Just a few minutes in and his head was already beginning to sweat as the mid-spring sun beat down on them from the courtyard. In fact, the entire dress was rather heavy and awkward to move in. He found himself befuddled as to how Zelda could walk around with such ease and not die of heatstroke in any season other than winter.

"Hehehe, if you win, I'll give you some candy from the collection I've been stealing from the maids," Zelda grinned at him as she handed him a small tie to tie her hair back. Her hair was slightly longer than his now, but Sheik doubted the castle maids would actually tell the difference. They were more annoyed with Sheik's presence rather than anything. In most cases, he was shooed away to go play with Zelda.

In essence, while his actual position was "servant" his real job was akin to Zelda's playmate, which Sheik was more than happy to accept.

Zelda… Had a hard time making friends, and while Sheik had always been more than willing to humor her odd plans- other noble children were not. He often heard them sneering at her from a distance about how weird she was.

If it wasn't her obsession with frogs that unnerved them, it was the visions. They were hardly ever quiet affairs. Her body shook and seized, and she spoke in tongues. Sheik often had to hold her steady in those moments to keep her from biting her tongue. When she came back to her senses, Zelda usually had a cryptic prophecy to tell her father. Though he rarely listened, and she was often scolded and chided by the King for "making a scene". Needless to say, despite the privileges her status afforded her- Zelda wasn't much better off than Sheik was in trying to impress the noble children of politicians. Sure, some tried to suck up to her initially, but Zelda's sixth sense for things often had her driving them away before really getting to know them.

"So it was you stealing Charlotte's candies. She was looking for them all over the place," Sheik let out a soft chuckle as he tugged his sister's hair back into a ponytail. Their disguise was nearly complete!

"Well, she deserves it for how often she yells at you. I call it petty payback!" Zelda exclaimed, wincing slightly as Sheik tugged his fingers through her hair to brush out any knots. However, the sly grin never left her face, "Hm, how about… You sneak me out of the castle for just one day! I've never gotten to see what Castle Town is like normally. Usually, it's just for those stupid holiday's father is required to make an appearance for. And then everyone just… stands around and pays attention to us. It's so… **_boring._** "

Sheik laughed nervously. _Sneak Princess Zelda out of the castle?_ Would such a thing even be possible? Zelda was guarded day and night by the Royal Guard, and then he had to think about Impa. Nothing ever escaped the Sheikah elder's watchful eye. It would be better if he said no to this request, "Zelda, you know that's…" Sheik is about to protest when he sees his younger sister's eyes shining at him. This is something she wants, and… Wouldn't it be better for the future queen to get a good look at how the average person lives and not… be locked away in the castle like their father was?

Sheik didn't really understand the nature of politics, but he was no stranger to the maid's whispers to the going's on outside the castle. They often spoke of unrest in the outer regions of Hyrule where food was much more scarce, and their father seemed to be turning a blind eye to such a problem. Sheik thought that made him a bad king, but no one would dare speak those words within the halls of the castle. Especially if they were in such a precarious position like Sheik.

Zelda didn't seem to be aware of the problems, but she desperately wanted to know, and Sheik couldn't fault her for that.

"Er… well...I mean, I guess I can try..?" Sheik frowned. Somehow he felt that having to sneak Princess Zelda out of the castle as a prize while he merely got a few pieces of candy for winning their little game was just the slightest bit unfair, "But my prize has to be bigger than just a few pieces of candy, Zelda."

Zelda tilted her head, trying to think of a better prize. After a moment, her face lit up, "I will owe you one favor. No questions ask!" Zelda beamed.

However, Sheik frowned. Not because Zelda would owe him a favor, but because having that kind of power over the Princess of Hyrule was… _terrifying_. If Sheik hadn't been as passive as he was, he could have easily asked for something terrible, and Zelda could be in real danger. There was something about his younger sister's naivety about her position that made Sheik uncomfortable.

After a long moment, Sheik finally shrugged. He'd accept such a deal, but he wouldn't ask for anything too complicated. Maybe a new pillow? The one he had in the servant's quarters was kind of flat and not very comfortable to sleep on.

"Fine, if I win, you owe me a favor, and if you win, I'll find a way to sneak you out of the castle," Sheik smiled. Although, now that he was mulling it over- maybe sneaking her out would be a _good idea_. It would give her a chance to learn what life outside the castle was really like. However, he isn't one to turn down a favor from Zelda, nor would he just let her win their little game, "The winner has to make it until lunchtime, and they can't be caught by Impa," Sheik reiterated.

The rules to their game finalized; they went their separate ways to pretend to be the other for the day. Zelda darted off to pretend to be a servant until lunchtime, and Sheik was left to his thoughts in the garden. To be honest, being his little sister wasn't **_that_** hard. It was dealing with the clothes that were the hardest part. They were just hot and hard to move around in. As for what Zelda would typically do- well, all he had to do was stay in the gardens.

Sometimes the royal tutor would come looking for her, but as far as Sheik knew, Zelda wasn't scheduled to have lessons today. Although, it might be fun to sit in on etiquette lessons and learn how to be a _"proper"_ noble. He wandered down to the fountain that was lined with magnolia flowers. The castle had many gardens, but out of all of them, Zelda preferred this one. It was… away from the other gardens and had been commissioned after the late Queen Cordelia's death.

His father… had been especially saddened by his wife's death, and Sheik didn't know how to feel about it. The King was his father, and his mother was a Sheikah woman- and she received no garden upon her death. His mother had all but seemed to disappear from his life after she had died. There were no fancy gardens or memorial statues. She was just gone, and he couldn't help but feel slightly resentful because of it. His mother was just another nameless face doomed to be forgotten, just as he was, unlike his father, the late queen, or even Zelda. Why? What made him so different..?

Sheik stared down at his reflection and frowned as he saw his own two ruby-colored eyes. They were the only glaring difference between Zelda and Sheik's appearance- and they were an unwelcome reminder of his bastard status. His little sister was the Princess of Hyrule and heir to the throne, and he was simply a child of shadows. Sheik would never truly be accepted as a member of the Royal Family- not as long as his father had anything to say about it. But what was even the point of bringing him to the castle? It didn't make much sense. Sheik wanted to believe it was out of some twisted sense of affection- but his father had never cared for him. Even at the best of times, he was simply treated as a nuisance.

A sigh tumbled out of him. He was overthinking again, and with these red eyes, no one would believe he was Zelda. He waved his hand absentmindedly and watched his eyes turn from red to blue. Sheik may not have inherited any of his father's light magic or "The Sight" as Zelda called it, but he did inherit some of the shadow magicks from his mother's side. The Sheikah were well known for their ability to employ glamours and illusions. However, the magic didn't merely stop at silly glamours- their association with the Goddess of Death allowed them some innate control over the dead.

However, Sheik wasn't exactly looking forward to learning about that sort of magick. Sheik believed something was unsettling and unnatural about being able to reanimate the dead. He kept those thoughts to himself, though.

Once the glamour was in place, he wandered around the queen's garden without much direction. It wasn't just the magnolia's in bloom- the queen's garden was filled with a myriad of flowers that bloomed at different times of the year. The gardeners were ordered to take special care of this garden, and so it remained well tended too- even in the winter months.

"Let's see… those are iris'… daffodils… Oh! They planted snowdrop's this year too..!" Sheik smiled as he looked down at the flowers. He particularly loved gardening, but unfortunately, he didn't get to do it often. The head maid had said something about ruining his clothes. His clothes often got dirty anyway when he played with Zelda, but it was better not to question the head maid on these issues. After all, Charlotte could and would make his life much more difficult if she deemed him to be a "troublesome child"

It was easy to zone out and just think about what kind of flowers he'd plant in his very own garden if he had the chance. Buttercups, rose's, sunflowers, hibiscus- oh, and honeysuckles! Ah, when he was an adult, he could plant all of these things- and…

"Sheik!" Impa's voice bellowed through the garden, and Sheik bristled. Had he been found out already?! Usually, he could last a little longer in disguise than this. Luckily, he was hidden behind some hedges. It appeared the Sheikah elder hadn't noticed him yet, "Honestly, you two- I swear you think it's funny to shave ten years off my life," Impa lamented out loud.

She sounded annoyed.

Sheik swallowed and ducked further into the bushes. He absolutely could not be found by Impa, or he would lose..!

"Aw, c'mon Impa- It's fun…!" Zelda whined.

Oh, it looks like his sister had already been caught.

Sheik found it mildly disappointing they didn't even last until lunchtime.

Knowing that his sister was on the losing end of their little game, Sheik popped out from the bushes.

"Looks like I win, Zell—Zellie?" Sheik blinked. Impa had the young princess slung over her shoulder like a rag doll.

 **"She tried to run,"** Impa hissed. Zelda only laughed and gave a good-natured thumbs-up. Well, at least his little sister was taking losing with stride, "Ugh, and look at you. You're covered in mud."

Sheik stared down at himself. The white dress had now been sullied with mud and dirt. Oh, he's… probably going to have to be the one to clean this. He… didn't think this through, did he?

"Well, how was I supposed to predict you would be here so early? I thought you had business with the Sheikah tribe today," Zelda crossed her arms while leaning up to pout at Impa, "You can put me down now, Impa. I'm not going to run—I lost anyway."

Sheik laughed somewhat sheepishly as he stepped out of the dirt and bushes, "There's always next time, Zellie."

"Aw, but I was sure I could win! The head maid didn't even give me a passing glance when I ran right by her. If Impa hadn't intervened…!"

"Well, I _had_ come looking for Sheik, but imagine my surprise when I find _you_ pretending to be him instead," Impa stared back at Zelda, meeting Zelda's fierce and unrelenting gaze with one of her own. Impa may have had a soft spot when it came to her charge, but she was no pushover. Perhaps that's why King Daphnes had chosen her to be Zelda's nanny after Queen Cordelia's death.

However, the revelation that Impa had been looking for him caught Sheik off guard. While Impa looked after him when she could and tried to make his life a little more comfortable in the castle, she was hardly his nanny. It was rare for her to come personally looking for him. For a brief moment, a cold shudder ran down his spine- had he done something wrong? Was he in trouble? Were the maids going to make him scrub the dining halls by hand again?

"What do you need from me? Did someone complain to you…again…?" Sheik looked down, twisting the fabric of Zelda's dress into his hands. Sheik was well aware his presence at the castle was tenuous at best. One wrong move and they could throw him out onto the streets- well, actually, they probably wouldn't do that. His status as the King's bastard son made him a liability, so being kicked out onto the street would have been the best possible outcome if his father decided he no longer wanted to deal with Sheik.

However, Sheik and Zelda's father had all but checked out of their children's lives in the last few years. The death of Zelda's mother seemed to have simply broken something inside of him. Where, in the past, he insisted Sheik stay away from Zelda- now he simply didn't care.

Of course, there were rumors about Sheik given he had no immediate family, and he looked so much like Zelda, but… No one dared to speak those thoughts aloud. Not in the castle.

After all, King Daphnes was the one who united Hyrule and put an end to the civil war that had ravaged Hyrule for several years. The people of Hyrule wanted peace- tenuous though it was at best. He wasn't a great ruler, but he was… a ruler.

At least that's how people spoke of it behind closed doors. Sheik didn't understand much of the politics, nor did he particularly care. He wasn't a Royal, and he was never going to be a Royal. The best he could hope to do was support Zelda when she was queen.

"It's been decided that you are going to begin your training as a Sheikah warrior," Impa explained. Sheik's eyes widened- out of all the things Impa could have said, he wasn't expecting that.

Sheik's unique situation meant there was some debate over whether or not it would be proper to serve the Royal Family and left the status of his training in limbo. He couldn't begin training until the other elder's had approved- even with Impa's support as head of the clan.

However, if Impa said he was to begin his training… then that meant..! He could finally be of some use to his sister other than just a simple playmate or servant! He would be able to protect her..!

"Oh! Then that means Sheik can join my guard, right?!" Zelda chimed in ecstatically. She'd been quiet for a few moments, given the fact that she was still slung over Impa's shoulder.

"Well, we'll see. Given Sheik's… unique situation- It's been decided that I will train him personally. It will be a long and hard road, but this is the first step of many. Are you okay with this, Sheik?"

Sheik looked up at Impa, he could feel a grin etching itself onto his face before he ran to Impa and gave her the tightest hug he could muster. Impa seemed caught off guard by the sudden embrace and bristled for a moment before softening. Sheik felt the Sheikah elder place her free hand on his head. Impa, though as distant as she was at times, was the closest thing both the royal children had to a mother figure. She had always tried to do what she thought was best for them.

"Erm, this is heartwarming and all, but…" Zelda chimed up again. Impa gave her a sidelong glance, "But could you put me down now please, Impa? All the blood is rushing to my head-" Zelda squeaked out, and a wry smile began to etch itself onto Impa's face.

"How do I know you won't run away again, Princess?"

"I woooon't! Immmpaaaa! Sheeeeik tell her to put me down!" Zelda whined as she began to squirm like a cat that had been held too long.

All Sheik did was laugh.


End file.
